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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 29, 1902)
EXTRACTS FROM jT * T PRESS TRIBUTES. Appended are extracts from a few of the many hundred editorials which have reached this office , indicative of the esteem in which Mr. Morton was held , over the whole country : NEBRASKA. OMAHA. Bee. Never popular in a political sense , and never seeking popularity by the devices of a demagogue , J. Sterling Morton was at all times a man of cul ture and positive force , exerting his tal ents and influence for the elevation of the standard of public morals and the cultivation of the civic virtues. He despised hypocrisy and detested im posture of every sort , and often told un palatable trufhs when it would have been more profitable to him to dissimu late. He preached and talked the gospel of work as the only safe ladder to suo- cess and fame and continued through a a lifetime to practice what he preached. World-Herald. In his later years he became bitter and harsh in judging his former political allies and they were equally severe with him. It must be conceded , however , that as a party out- east he stood by his convictions with a sincerity and vigor as marked as when he led the democratic party of Nebraska , year after year , to certain defeat. News. With boundless and dauntless courage as two of his most noticeable characteristics , Mr. Morton was magni ficently equipped to bear a manly part in the development of a territory just struggling into statehood. Among his other abilities he was the possessor of a command of language that was most gratifying to his friends but wonderful ly disconcerting to those whom he op posed. Excelsior. Sterling Morton was a great Nebraskon , one of the most noted the state has ever produced , and noted in a way that did honor to the com monwealth. What he stood for was what we would most expect the east to seek and what 'he abhorred was what wo have been trying to cast without our borders. Examiner. From the sphere of earthly endeavor J. Sterling Morton is removed , but so well wore his efforts executed that his memory shall be in destructible. Upon the vast reticula tions o' . industry , ramifying through this western territory in the develop ment of its natural resources , the im pression of his gianthood is indelibly stamped. In living monuments of waving boughs and singing leaves his praises will bo sung and never his requiem. * - Illustrated Bee. Many eulogies have been spoken over this dead Nebraskan , but none so eloquent as that rustle of the leaves in summer winds that stir the boughs of beautiful trees , where woods there wore none before the sage of Arbor Lodge adopted his motto , "Plant Trees. " LINCOLN. State Journal. A volume could be written on the culture , the ability , the strength and the achievements of this remarkable man. It is but weak and trite to say that his death will cause sorrow to the entire state. He was a foremost citizen not only of Nebraska , but of the entire West. The passing of such a man is a national loss. News. There never was a man of kinder heart when once his acquaint ance was made. He was a many-sided man ; he was a poet and humorist , among other thingsand his eye was ever keen to behold the romantic or the beauti ful. We never knew o man so absolute ly honest and fearless in his utterance. Post. All in all Nebraska never had an abler nor a better citizen than Mr. Morton , and without reference to party or faction there is a statewide expres sion of sorrow at his death. State Record. From the day in 1854 when he crossed the Missouri river , up to the day he crossed the other river , he was one of the foremost men in both public and private life. In the years , meteoric men came in sight and disap peared , but Morton held his place , as he holds it yet. In his life he formed friendships of rugged men and inspired sentiments not surpassed in beauty and tenderness in the literature of the world. NEBRASKA OITY. Daily Tribune. The enloey , the epitaph of J. Sterling Morton , will be written by men who have seen him at work through fifty years of conscientious effort ; who have stood by his side while a great state was being created on the bare prairie along lines planned by him and men like him. The writer of this , a lov ing and admiring pupil proud now to be able to call himself a pupil of Mr. Morton's for the last dozen years , has no thought today but to express some sense of the loss that he and his fellow-townsmen feel , when they realize that never again shall they see that erect , manly old figure , feel the grasp of that strong hand , look into the kindly fire of those keen eyes nor listen to the wisdom of that ripened brain. News. The state of Nebraska , and particularly Nebraska Oity , has suffered an irreparable loss in the death of one of its very most distinguished citizens , Hon. J. Sterling Morton. He has al ways taken a great deal of interest in public affairs and was always willing to encourage and assist any enterprise that would prove beneficial to the city. Press. Coming to Nebraska when it was a wilderness , locating on un broken prairie land contiguous to Ne braska Oity , the ambition of Mr. Mor ton has been less the acquisition of wealth or the praises of fame , than the establishment of a home in the truest and best signification of the term. * * * Of all the good Mr. Morton has done for Nebraska Oity perhaps the greatest consists in the number of young men he has assisted to secure good positions. Having been eminently successful in rearing a family of boys , Mr. Morton was doubtless better qualified to give advice to a young man than any other man in the state. Staats-Zeitung. No wonder that the grief for him who is departed is uni versal. But his name will live on in the annals of the nation and the state and in the hearts of our citizens , and his works follow him. Soft may he rest ! ALLIANCE. Pioneer Grip. In ages to come those trees planted on the day designated by law as a public holiday will stand as living monuments to a great name , their branches daily bowing to the kindly spirit of him whose kindly na ture made it possible for them to live to bless the earth and mankind. ARAPAHOE. Public Mirror. The trees planted by thousands of youthful hands will typify his inspiration to make Nebraska beau tiful. ASHLAND. Gazette. He came inspired with lofty ideals for the development of the state of his adoption , and he lived to see them realized in a measure far ex ceeding his anticipations. AUBURN. Granger. No man has done more to promote the interests of the people of the state at any time than he. BEATRICE. Express. His life was strenuous and purposeful ; there were no slothful days in his history ; whatsoever he did , he did it with all his might , and his efforts were always inspired by honorable , patriotic motives. Times. He was a unique figure in the development of the new West- unique , because a leader of leaders. BLOOMINGTON. Advocate. Arbor Day will always live and be cherished by the people of Nebraska as a monument of his untir ing work. BURR. Pilot. He was the City's foremost citizen and father of Arbor Day.